811.20 Defense(M)/3319: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:52 p.m.]
356. My 352, September 23. Shortly after I had seen Foreign Minister yesterday British Ambassador had 4-hour discussion with him and Secretary-General as outcome of which Minister said question would be reconsidered. Although Turks argued at length legal aspect of matter they conceded that question was fundamentally political. Hugessen tells me that when he referred to anxiety I felt as to effect which giving of chrome to Germany would have in America Saraçoğlu rather hotly accused him of having put me up to intervening in matter and made clear that he was greatly irritated by what he [Page 953] felt to be my gratuitous intrusion. Hugessen of course made it plain that whatever action I had taken was prompted by my Government’s very real interest and concern.
2. He strongly feels and I concur that it would be ill-advised for either of us to press matter further at this moment in view of action already taken; authorities are obviously smarting at being called to account and made to realize error of what evidently was their calculation that they could in this way “throw a teb to the whale” without serious consequences; and we both feel that there is danger of exasperating this feeling to extent of its obscuring their judgment and arousing their characteristic recalcitrancy in face of pressure just when they are undertaking to consider matter afresh. I am therefore assuming that representations I made yesterday substantially carry out purpose of your 164, September 21, and unless otherwise instructed shall make no further démarche at present stage of question.
Repeated to London.